But he just isn’t going to be the one to sign his name to that

by Brian Leubitz

During the intermission between paychecks for the Legislators, there were a lot of angry press releases sent out decrying the nerve of that darn Controller.  And at the time, I thought aloud that eventually somebody would challenge it, though the nerve of that particular legislator would likely be something to behold.

And I stick to that more than ever today.  Yesterday, Sen. Steinberg says that the COntroller really didn’t have the authority to decide what was balanced, and that his decision needs to be litigated.

Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat, said the issue needs to be legally challenged, though he still doesn’t know who will pursue the case.

“In the moment, of course, it was a popular decision,” Steinberg told The Bee’s Capitol Bureau. “But over the long term, do we really want any governor of the state of California, or a controller, or it could be an attorney general, to say, ‘I demand more cuts. I demand solutions different from what you presented or else people aren’t going to get paid.’ ”

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“I think it was an erroneous decision,” Steinberg said. “And I think over time it will be seen as a decision with very troubling precedent for this state and our system of government.”(SacBee)

I’m not sure that it made a really huge difference this time, as it was ultimately the Gov. that tossed in the towel this time.  But next time this comes up, what if the Governor, perhaps even a Republican…gasp!, is playing Arnold-like games of brinksmanship.  Does the legislator, sans pay, really have the ability to hold out forever?

Senator – Barbara Boxer

AKA California’s Good Senator. Boxer is a reliable liberal in a senate full of utterly useless corporate centrists, and quite unafraid to make waves in the service of doing the right thing. In a career that has mostly been dominated by Republican control of the senate, Boxer has distinguished herself by pushing back against a decade of wingnuttery. By contrast, I knew about Fiorina’s awful reputation in silicon valley a decade before she decided to make a vanity run for senate, just from techies I knew heaping scorn upon the CEO who drove HP into the ground and then walked away with millions. Thank goodness Boxer’s a formidable campaigner, and Fiorina appears to be headed for the dusty place where all the gazillionaire right wing vanity candidates go after they lose, right next to Michael Huffington.

House of Representatives

CA-01 – Mike Thompson

Mike’s generally a pretty good guy, and there have been no groaners like the credit card/bankruptcy bill. this time around. Mike’s candidate-for-life in that district, but he does a good job representing his people, and I respect that.

CA-02 – Jim Reed

This district is so gerrymandered for Republicans it isn’t funny, but I have to applaud Reed for making a serious hard run at the execrable Wally Herger, who isn’t even bothering to campaign this time around, much less debate Reed.

CA-03 – Ami Bera

I am thrilled to see Democrats finally start to compete east of the Carquinez, and Bera is certainly giving Lungren a run for his money. As a once and possibly future denizen of the 3rd CD, I really hope Bera knocks off that right wing SoCal carpetbagger. The 80 corridor has changed, and deserves a good congressman.  

Governor – Jerry Brown

I didn’t endorse Brown in the primary because he effectively wasn’t bothering to run, and did not ask for my vote. Since then, Brown has come out and made a very strong case for himself as the right candidate for this moment in time. What seemed far-out 30 years ago turns out to be just what California needs today: energy independence and a healthy green economy, bullet trains and a next-generation infrastructure, efficiency in both energy and the functioning of the state government, and a deep love of the state for who we are, in stark contrast to his opponent, who seems to spend most of her time telling us why we’d be better off making California into Texas.

By contrast, Meg Whitman is basically a failed insider trading CEO reading Pete Wilson’s cue cards, and utterly unqualified to function as governor, both experientially and tempermentally. The choice by the CA GOP to run two abrasive, disgraced CEO-turned-amateur politicians after the state has suffered through a wicked one-two punch from corrupt incompetent CEOs compounded by an amateur millionaire-turned-vanity candidate just blows my mind.

Lt. Governor – Gavin Newsom

I’ll admit it; Lt. Governor isn’t the most interesting position, and Newsom is not my ideal candidate. And yet the Lt. Gov. sits on a bunch of commissions that determine everything from offshore drilling to UC tuition. Newsom has higher ambitions, and will be on good behavior delivering on his campaign promises to hold down tuition and not risk another Deepwater Horizon blowout off the California coast. Maldonado, similarly, has higher ambitions, and will no doubt do everything in his power to impress the usual CA GOP primary voters and fundraisers by throwing monkeywrenches in a Brown administration wherever possible. Additionally, Maldonado’s role in the annual hostage crisis that is the CA budgetary process has been to demand all manner of extortionary concessions before he finally cast his vote to pass it, months late. No way I’d vote to reward that kind of jackassery.

Attorney General – Kamala Harris

I am genuinely thrilled to vote for Harris, who by all accounts has done  an innovative, thoughtful job as DA in San Francisco, trying to prevent crime by studying what makes people re-offend and trying to disrupt that vicious cycle. For well over a generation, California has tried the “lock ’em up and throw away the key!” style of policing, and it has been an utter failure on every level (unless you’re a prison guard, in which case it’s been good for business). Additionally, Harris has vowed not to appeal prop 8, and to defend the state’s carbon trading regime against corporations trying to weasel out of paying for their pollution. Naturally, Karl Rove’s corporate-funded group is gunning for Harris with everything they’ve got, and throwing all manner of negative slogans against the wall to see if anything gets traction. Cooley, by contrast, will waste CA money defending the unconstitutional mess that was prop 8. Easy choice here.

Secretary of State – Deb Bowen

Quite possibly one of my favorite statewide politicians. Competent, progressive, and an effective advocate for the reform of California’s voting machines, Bowen has more than earned her reelection.

Treasurer – Bill Lockyear

I am not a fan of Lockyear, and still hold his endorsement of Schwarzeneggar against him. And yet he has done a good job of keeping the state bonds moving in an awful economy with a lot of speculators determined to create the false image of a California on the verge of a default bankruptcy crisis. I’m not likely to support him in any contested primary, but he’s a whole lot better a treasurer than Mimi Walters would be.

Controller – John Chiang

I really like the way Chiang stood up to the Schwarzeneggar administration’s attempts to screw state workers out of sheer spiteful malevolence, and I hope he has a long career in state politics ahead of him. Definitely earned reelection.

Insurance Commissioner – Dave Jones

I was impressed with Jones in the Democratic primary, esp. his deep knowledge of insurance policy and substantial record as a consumer rights advocate, and continue to support him for those reasons. Lord knows the Insurance corporations will eat us alive if noone’s standing up to them effectively.

Superintendent of Public Instruction – Tom Torlakson

It is beyond question that our state’s public educational system is a mess, after decades of deliberate underfunding and burdensome BS testing that robs class instruction time and fattens consultants and experts while starving teachers and programs. Who you vote for in this race depends on where you think the solution lies. If you think teachers are the problem, and that the state needs to make it easier for administrators to fire them, break their unions, and lower their pay, then you probably will want to vote for the other guy. After all, that’s the mindset of the types who are backing him.

If, though, you think that teachers are the solution, and want to give our schools better funding and treat public teachers like the treasured community servants that they are, than Torlakson is your man. As a product of the CA public school system, and as someone who has taught the kids coming out of the school system, I know the strengths and weaknesses of the status quo, and I know which side I am on. I stand with teachers and Torlakson.

Board of Equalization, district 1 – Betty Yee

She seemed nice enough, although I’ll admit I was tempted for a split second to vote for the candidate named “Borg” out of sheer Trekkie geekiness. Then I remembered that’s how the state got Arnold Schwarzeneggar, and came back to my senses.

Assembly – Mariko Yamada

Mariko did such a good job standing up for the district’s interests that she got locked out of the talks on screwing the Delta and building a peripheral canal, along with Lois Wolk. She has not only voted a solid liberal line on most stuff, but has also been there for area farmers with her votes to save Williamson Act funding, one of the few things keeping back the tide of real estate speculation on Ag Land. Deserves reelection.

Judges

Keep – Carlos Moreno, Kathleen Butz

Reject – Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Ming Chin, and especially Nicholson

No recommendation – Harry Hull

I hate the way that judicial races pose all the candidates with no political or legal information and no campaigning, and then let you vote on them. People whining about the politicization for the Judiciary miss the point – it’s already politicized. On that note, here’s my reasoning for the votes:

Moreno dissented quite beautifully to prop 8 and the various decisions to let it stand. Ming Chin OTOH argued against the decision to legalize same sex marriage, then voted to uphold prop 8 after it passed.

George Nicholson is a grade a right wing activist, who wrote the “victim’s bill of rights” and is a strong proponent of “strict originalism.”

Kathleen Butz, from her information, seemed pretty middle of the road.

As for Cantil-Sakauye, I could not find any information on her legal stances, much less political ones, and I don’t trust Schwarzeneggar further than I can throw him. Better to let the next governor appoint someone else, with more of a record.

Davis School Board

Honestly, I’m still pretty upset with the way the Valley Oak closing went, and am not inclined to vote for any of the incumbants. None are crazies, and all will probably coast to reelection. I voted for Mike Nolan, for his refreshing statement that there comes a point where schools cannot be cut beyond, and that he would go to the public and ask them what they would be willing to pay for, and then float a bond well ahead of time to pay for it. I do not buy the “People in Davis don’t have the money for schools” line, not with so many Lexuses and Mercedes parked around town. Pony up, yuppies.

Ballot Initiatives

For an explanation, vote by vote, check out this diary. In a nutshell, I endorse:

YES on 19 – Let Timmy Smoke!

NO on 20 – beware of trojan horse redistricting schemes

YES on 21 – $18 a year for free entry to state parks is a great deal

NO on 22 – the budget doesn’t need yet another complicated set of restrictions

NO on 23 – Beat Texas Oil and protect CA’s green industry

YES on 24 – repeal the last budget deal’s corporate tax giveaways

YES on 25 – majority rule on budgets

NO on 26 – trojan horse corporate polluter attempt to prevent paying fines

YES on 27 return redistricting to the majority party

originally at surf putah

Hey look at that, a better than expected August bought us some time to avoid IOUs:

The Democratic controller said the state took in 3.9 percent more revenues in August than the Department of Finance projected it would. Chiang said the August cash totals were sufficient to ward off an IOU threat for now. He previously said IOUs might be necessary by mid-September at the latest.(SacBee)

Not sure what that will do to get the budget in place any sooner, but as for right now, with Arnold in Asia, a deal still seems a long way off.  It just might be that we don’t have anything until the election is decided.  In case this election needed to become more important, well, there you have it.

In today’s LA Times, I called John Chiang a nerd. It’s true!

“He’s just looks like a nerd, right?” said Brian Leubitz, founder of Calitics, a liberal blog.

But beneath the wonkish exterior, Chiang has displayed sharp political instincts that have made him a favorite of the politically potent labor unions that represent the state’s workforce and have contributed significantly to his campaigns. (LA Times)

To be honest, this was kind of a throwaway line in the interview.  I was saying that he doesn’t initially strike you as the guy who would stand up to The Terminator. But in his own quiet, unassuming way, he is.  My other quote is about how Chiang is now one of the few progressive leaders who has really impressed the base.

But Chiang, like Debra Bowen, has impressed through sheer merit.  He really understands his role, and his job.  And he leverages his power, when possible, to fight for progressive change.  At the same time, he is just very capable.  Take a look at one of the credit agency reports, and you’ll find them praising Chiang and his office for their excellent cash management during last year’s budget crisis.  He probably saved us a small fortune by helping to maintain (as much as that is possible) our credit rating. I won’t go in to how much of the credit rating is complete BS, as we’ve mentioned that in the past. But at least the agencies recognize competence.

In the end, isn’t it competence that we should be favoring for our fiscal position. Somebody who understands the complexities of sound cash flow management, and the consequences of the Governor’s reckless actions.  Prudence…it’s perhaps a quality that the Governor could get a real lesson from John Chiang.

Sure, if I wanted to blow up an alien vessel, I’d call Schwarzenegger. But stave off fiscal insolvency? Sacramento calls John Chiang.

Yesterday, Arnold Schwarzenegger sued for an injunction requiring Controller John Chiang to impliment his order to cut state worker salaries to the minimum wage.  Controller Chiang has a response:

State Controller John Chiang filed suit today in an attempt to block Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s order to reduce pay for most state workers to the federal minimum wage during the current budget impasse.

Chiang’s suit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court, complains that he is being forced to choose between violating Schwarzenegger’s order or violating various federal and state laws. Read the cross complaint here.(SacBee)

A hearing should be scheduled fairly shortly; we’ll keep you updated on this situation.  The response brings up a number of fairly important issues, such as how to account to corrections employees that are now under federal court receivership, tax implications,  and how to actually deal with the excluded class of six unions that have signed new deals.

The whole order is something of a mess, with Arnold not really considering the implications. Nothing new there.

The gloves are off between John Chiang and the Governor.  Today, Arnold filed for an injunction requiring Chiang to not issue the full paychecks to state workers:

The Schwarzenegger administration submitted a court petition Tuesday in Sacramento County Superior Court seeking an injunction to force state Controller John Chiang to slash the wages of roughly 200,000 state workers.

Schwarzenegger has ordered the wages of state employees cut to $7.25 an hour until a budget is signed. A state appeals court agreed that the governor had the authority to do so last week, but Chiang, a Democrat, has continued to fight the directive. (LA Times)

Chiang has been fighting this for a number of years now, but the Supreme Court has yet to way in decisively one way or the other. Chiang has been arguing for years that unless the computer system is upgraded the pay cut will wreak havoc upon the payroll system.

In the end, the cut simply isn’t necessary. It’s just Arnold playing games with the state’s workforce.  But, it seems anything goes with state workers these days. Name a method of attack, and it’s pretty much a lock that some Republican (or Democrat/Green) will try it.

On Thursday,I wondered what John Chiang’s response to the Governor would be.  Would he stand up to him like he did last year? Or comply with the minimum wage order.  The answer? A strong no:

In a strongly worded rebuke, state Controller John Chiang said Thursday that he would defy Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s order to slash the pay of state workers until “the courts hand down a final resolution.”

Chiang, a Democrat, said the pay cuts will “do nothing to solve the budget deficit” because state employees are entitled to their back pay once a budget is in place. “In the absence of the leadership needed to bring the Legislature to an agreement on his budget, the governor again resorts to political tricks,” Chiang said in a statement. …

“Again, absent a final court ruling, I will continue to protect the state’s finances and pay full wages earned by state employees,” Chiang declared. (LA Times)

Good for Chiang. This is a political stunt by the governor, and isn’t necessary for purposes of the state budget.  Honestly, there have been few batter allies for state workers than John Chiang. While maintaining a steady hand at the fiscal controls, he has managed to be a counterbalance to the Governor’s brinskmanship.

While some on Wall Street would prefer that the IOUs keep coming, it looks like they will end sooner rather than later.  JP Morgan Chase, one of our “too big to fail” banks, has decided to step in to the fray and loan the state some cash to cover expenses for the next month.

Treasurer Bill Lockyer says JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to lend California $1.5 billion as part of Controller John Chiang’s plan to begin redeeming IOUs on Sept. 4.

The IOUs, which the cash-strapped state began issuing July 2 to pay many of its business vendors and other creditors, were supposed to mature Oct. 2. But Chiang said last week that the budget passed by the Legislature produced enough savings to allow for earlier redemption of the scrip — provided the state could get a $1.5-billion short-term loan by Aug. 28. (LA Times 8/19/09)

The risk here for Chase is almost zero, so what ever interest they get should be set at some sort of reasonable cost.  The state should begin issuing revenue anticipation notes soon, and Chase will then get its cash back.  I suppose it must be nice to have a billion or two to loan out when the mood strikes you.

At any rate, the ending of the IOUs was getting critical for small business that contract with the state.  They’ve been essentially financing the state during this round of the budget debacle, and these aren’t really people that can afford to do that.